A trend that is beginning to take on greater importance in the sector is internalizing the maintenance and operation of wind farms on behalf of the owner. Historically, along with the wind turbine supply contract, a 20 or 25-year service and maintenance contract with the manufacturer was included. However, due to cost reductions in the industry, many operators and owners have decided to break that paradigm and opt for greater flexibility. This translates into a greater diversity of options, for example by reducing the scope of contracts or their duration. In some cases owners decide to hire independent service companies or even form their own teams to perform maintenance on their wind farms.
How can working with Sereema help you internalize your maintenence strategies?
Sereema collaborated with an independent power producer with 2 GW of wind assets in 7 countries as part of the internalization of the service and maintenance of its wind farms.
In this case, the owner performed 6-month measurement campaigns on a farm-by-farm basis, including the results of the Windfit diagnostic system to its predictive maintenance strategy. This high-frequency data collection and analysis system allowed the owner to obtain an independent view of the operation and performance of his wind farm. During this project, problems related to rotor unbalance, the orientation system or vibrations of each wind turbine, among others, were identified.
These results were integrated into the new operation and maintenance procedures, optimizing not only the performance of each wind farm but also its maintenance costs, specifying the necessary revisions in each service.
After 3 years of collaboration and having used Windfit in more than 30 wind farms with 5 different brands of manufacturers, the results and gains obtained for this owner in his entire fleet are as follows:
- Only 13% of the turbines had no issues. This proves that availability isn't the only factor for wind turbine performance and maintenance.
- There was a large proportion of turbines with reliability issues (45%), mostly rotor mass imbalances or configuration errors that can impact turbine lifetime.
- 42% of wind turbines had issues that affect performance, such as pitch or yaw misalignments.
- Average gains of +1% AEP, which resulted in an increase in annual revenues close to +220 k€.
In addition to direct AEP / cost gains, this strategy has allowed the owner to improve the knowledge of the operational parameters of each wind farm. In addition, it has been possible to validate the quality of the work performed by the maintenance teams, helping the managers of each wind farm to homogenize the performance of their fleet of wind turbines.
In short, this system has provided greater control over the operation and maintenance activities of this owner, an aspect that should be considered paramount when internalizing this service.
